Third Cousins

Lori's little boy Tyler is 13 1/2 months old. (Magnus turned 10 months old today!) Magnus thought Tyler was really great! Tyler thought Magnus was a bit too rambunctious though, and usually tried to avoid his wildly clawing paws. Tyler was wearing a shirt that said, "Dear Santa. Define good." =) It was so cute to see Tyler walking around all over the place, and here's Magnus - as big as Tyler - and he can't even quite crawl yet! He still does the "commando crawl" and just pulls himself around with his arms (which, by the way, is quite tiring, so he complains LOUDLY about this particular mode of transportation). Recently Magnus has decided he wants to skip crawling and go straight to walking, so he grabs our hands and wants to walk all around the house. Maybe that visit with Tyler last week inspired him!

Santa Babies

Magnus and Tyler played Santa for us this year. They were so cute in their little red suits - beard and all! They must have been looking for that troublemaking Rudolph in the second picture...

Comparing Notes

Here is a picture of Magnus... and a picture of Joe! Aren't they cute?? They even KINDA look alike! ;-)

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

But that's about it! I have done very little shopping (Grant it, I tried!! Honest!) and absolutely no baking. I did manage to get all my cards out in time though - for that I am very grateful, and perhaps even a bit surprised. For as much as I love this time of year, I really don't get a whole lot accomplished. Visions of sugar plums (okay, maybe not sugar plums - more like truffles, fudge and cookies...) always dance in my head, but somehow I can't ever seem to find that extra time to bake all those goodies that I have every intention to make. I usually can squeeze just enough time in to eat mom's turtle's and Jennifer's fudge though. No problem.

Cryin' Those Lonesome Blues

Joe saw this picture of me and Magnus and said we look like those "Will you help this child?" pictures of needy kids. Well, we're not going hungry (quite the contrary!), but we ARE "needy". We NEED Joe to come home soon! He is away on a 5 day trip and we miss him so much. It already feels like he's been gone for weeks. We did a little bit of therapeutic shopping yesterday, (that's what girls do, you know) but the effect wore off quickly, so I'm thinking maybe we should go shopping again to see if it actually helps this time. Donations are always welcome, and we're currently accepting new sponsors for our much needed "shopping treatments".

Family Photo Time!

Ahhh... the magical time of year that babies and hubbies seem to dread, but mommies simply demand. Family photos! Today I corralled my men-folk, said, "Here! Wear these clothes!" and set up the tripod for a fun-filled (riiiiiight!) time of home photography. I call it my Bi-Annual Photo Challenge. Magnus doesn't see the need to look at a boring little camera with nobody behind it making silly faces, so that always adds a measure of difficulty... but, we kept at it and got a few good pictures anyway. My fellas were actually pretty good sports about it, too!

All Tuckered Out

Magnus and I were having fun last night making up new games, and I was pulling him around the house in the laundry basket. He thought it was great fun, but it was getting close to his bedtime, so this is what he looked like after a few minutes!

Are these things RIGHT?!

Magnus seemed a bit surprised when he got on the scales the other day. I noticed him trying all the old tricks to ease the shock of the numbers... you know, bouncing up and down, hanging a foot off, waving his arms around, repositioning to a different part of the scales, leaning on someone... But in the end, he admitted he was going to have to stop hitting the bottle so much!

Just for Joe

To my favorite husband: (Wait, No... Make that my favorite PERSON!)

I love you more than you'll ever begin to know!

Thank you for your daily walk with God.

Thank you for providing so well for me and Magnus, and for being willing to sacrifice to let me stay home and raise our little boy.

Thank you for understanding me, and for keeping our communication lines open 24/7. I really appreciate how you call me from work so often. It always is a bright spot in my day.

You're so patient and kind, and I love the way you can be strong and yet never harsh. You are so perfect for me! And Magnus thinks you're the greatest thing EVER!

You hold my heart and complete devotion forever!!! xoxo ~ Wifey